Episode 2: New Kid In Town
by JPC
Summary: Connor arrives in Sunnydale, but doesn't make a very good first impression with either Buffy or Dawn. He does, ironically, become fast friends with Xander.


Connor arrives in Sunnydale. He doesn't make a very good first impression. He finally manages to gain Buffy's and Dawn's trust by lying to them about his origins and his past. However, a vampire gang that knows who he really is tries to kidnap and sacrifice him.

As he gazed his eyes upon her, he could not believe that she was a mere human being. A human had never made him feel this way. Nothing had. His mouth went dry. His heart pounded. His legs felt paralyzed. There was a tingling sensation in his belly. That last one was definitely new. It was like a parasite crawling around his insides. Except he kind of liked it.

He could not let this fairest of maidens walk out of his life. He must talk to her. He must spend every waking minute around her. But first, he had to talk to her. Maybe he could save her life. He knew this was a good way to impress women. But there were no bad guys around. Too bad. But he must do something, and do it know. If he did not, he might never see her again. And then he didn't know if he could go on living. But of course this was ridiculous. Sixty seconds ago he did not know she existed. And now she was the center of his existence? He knew it was irrational, but this made him believe it even more.

Convinced it was now or never, Connor mustered the courage to present himself to the fair maiden. Alas, he was no good with small talk. It just wasn't an important skill in a hell dimension.

"So, uh, do you, uh, come out here to hunt? See I, uh, come out here to hunt, uh, all the time, see. It's quiet at night, uh, you know, and easy to hear the animals."

Dawn looked at this boy as if he was from another planet, or at least from a mental hospital.

Connor saw he wasn't making any headway. So he tried to impress her. He took off his necklace and showed it to Dawn.

"These are, uh, from things I killed. Uh, I can kill a lot of things."

Now Dawn was genuinely frightened. The boy wasn't just mental. He was violent. She ran away. Connor wanted to beg her not to leave, but the syllables could not force their way out of his throat.

But he would not give up. Life on quor-toth did not teach Connor how to pick up women or make a good first impression. But it did teach him how to track things. He shadowed her home. He stayed up all night sitting in a tree a block away. In the morning he followed her to school, and lurked around the grounds.

Connor did not just want to learn about his fair maiden. He wanted to see what other people who looked his age did, and how they sounded. From a distance he could hear the conversations in the courtyard. Their activities, their hopes, their expectations were so different from his own.

Before Connor met Dawn, he had no real expectations, except to stay alive. When Angel came back he knew he was in danger. Connor could hide from the Wolfram & Hart goons always trying to grab him. They were loud and numerous, announcing their presence so far in advance Connor always had time to get away. But Angel understood stealth. If he wanted to find Connor in that city, he would. So Connor had to get away.

First he traveled east, in the direction of San Benardino. He found himself in a large, quiet forest. No cars whizzing by, no crowds of people making him nervous. This was more like it. But then Connor saw a sign: he was in Angeles National Forest. The name alone made him nervous. So he turned right and headed south.

When he was tired he slept in the hills. When he was hungry he could always find a metal box with food in it. In some places there were even buildings full of food which you could grab without any effort at all. At some point south of Yorba Linda he started finding vampires. He killed some and tracked others. They all seemed to head to this one town. And it wasn't just vampires. There were a few creatures Connor had never seen before. With so many animals to hunt, Sunnydale almost felt like home to Connor.

But now killing could bring Connor no joy. All he could think of was his fair maiden. The next night he saw her again, near the graveyard. She was waiting, looking, listening for what else could be in her vicinity. Connor thought yes, she must be hunting too. There was no other explanation. He tried to approach Dawn. But she heard him and turned in his direction. Connor panicked, and fled. He sped away and leaped over a ten foot wall in a single bound.

This time Dawn had got a better look at the new boy. She realized he wasn't that bad looking. But as she watched him leap into the distance, she realized he was a vampire. All the cute guys she met were vampires.

For months now Dawn had been Buffy's de facto apprentice. Buffy wanted to show Dawn the world. But most of the world Buffy knew revolved around staking the undead. Still, it allowed the two to bond. And it kept Dawn busy and out of trouble. As she improved, Buffy let her work on her own. Dawn would take an area 100 or 200 yards from Buffy. It allowed them to watch more open graves, prevent more vampire risings. And if Dawn was in danger, Buffy could hear her and quickly come to her aid.

The rest of that night and throughout the following day Connor asked himself why he ran away. He knew it was stupid. He knew he was blowing his big chance. It was just an instinct. You don't let what you're tracking know it is being tracked. When it spots you, you hide.

The next night Connor returned to where he had spotted Dawn the previous two evenings. No more lurking, no more shyness. He would go straight up to her and they would talk. There would be no more misunderstandings. She would understand what she meant to him, and he would win her heart.

So Connor made his move. Dawn was standing near Buffy on this occasion. Dawn spotted Connor. "Buffy!," Dawn screamed. "That's the vampire who's been after me!"

Buffy ran to Connor. He knew only one way to respond to threats. He charged, then when he was within about 15 feet he leaped in the air to kick Buffy. As he flew towards her, Buffy jumped straight up, avoiding his kick. She did a forward flip. When the two landed they turned and faced one another.

Buffy launched a roundhouse kick, which Connor blocked. She tried a forward kick, which he also blocked. Connor tried a right cross, then a left hook. Buffy blocked both. When he threw his left hook, she grabbed his fist, twisted his arm behind his back, and threw him to the ground. Connor rose. Buffy tried to kick Connor in the face. He ducked, then landed a crushing left jab which sent Buffy ten feet backward.

He approached quickly, and as she sprung to her feet she kicked Connor in the chest. Connor was confused. She looked like a woman, but fought better than a demon. Buffy landed several blows to Connor's face. She pulled out her stake. Connor's eyes bulged from his head. He grabbed the stake from her hand, and crushed the piece of wood in his fist. He landed several punches and kicks of his own. Buffy tried to kick him, but he grabbed her right foot in midair. She did a backflip, kicking Connor with her left foot and landing on her feet.

Connor leaped at her from twelve feet away. She grabbed him and threw him down. She pulled out another stake. Connor, still on the ground, grabbed her neck between his legs. Buffy struggled but could not break free. He flipped her down to the ground, and stood up. While she was down he kicked her in the ribs. She swept her legs into the backs of his and knocked him to the ground.

Both Buffy and Connor got up, and eyed each other warily. They circled one another, but instead of closing moved further apart. Soon they were circling each other thirty feet apart. Suddenly both took the offensive and charged one another, as if they were rams or elk. Both leaped in the air to attempt flying kicks. Their feet collided, sending both of them flying backwards and to the ground.

They landed in considerable pain. Slowly they rose. Buffy looked at Connor. She realized that at no time in their fight did he ever get bumpy and fangy. She stared at this boy and was puzzled. He stared at her with equal bewilderment. "What are you!?," Buffy yelled at Connor.

The nerve of this woman!, Connor thought. She attacked him. She tried to stake him, for heavens sakes! And he's the freak of nature in this situation? Still, she had tried to murder him. So Connor did not feel like staying around to answer questions from this homicidal maniac. He ran off into the distance. Buffy was sore, and she and her sister were very confused. They headed home for the night.

Connor had sprinted about 100 yards when something grabbed his right arm. He turned in fear to see what was holding him. It was a pale man in a long dark jacket.

The man spoke. "I fancy you want to know who that wonder woman was who nearly cut your heart out. And I'm bloody well sure you're dying to know what she was doing with that pretty little girl you were making great googly eyes at."

Spike had the boy's attention. Connor relaxed his muscles and calmed down. Spike let go of his arm.

"Who are you?," Connor asked.

"The name's Spike. I take it you're new to these parts. Welcome to Sunnydale. By now you know this place ain't like other towns. So what's your name, whipper snapper."

"Steven."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Steven. You look a little young to me out on your own. How old are you?"

Connor wasn't sure. Holtz said the seasons on quor-toth weren't like earth, so it was hard keeping track of time. Connor had heard others say he was 16, so he went with that. "Sixteen," he responded.

"You fight well for a young un," Spike told Connor. "Better than well, actually. You're bloody amazing."

"Thanks," Connor responded to the compliment. "That girl back there. She was also amazing."

"Ah yes, miss Summers," Spike began. "That's Buffy. As fighters go, she's at the top of the pyramid. She's a Vampire Slayer, God-given powers to fight the demons and all. I take it she thought you were a vampire. Can't blame her, now that I've seen your moves. But I see you gasping for air. You're spectacular, but best as I can tell you're human."

The Vampire Slayer thing intrigued Connor. "So she goes out at night and stakes vampires? I knew a woman like that in LA. She was tough, but not like that. Not like that Buffy."

"Yeah, Buffy's special, one-of-a-kind you might say. Now the girl, the one it's so bleeding obvious you're smitten with, she's Buffy's younger sister. Special bird. Guess you could say she's also one-of-a-kind."

"Is she also a Slayer?," Connor asked.

"No. But she's powerful. Not like Buffy, but for a girl whose not a Slayer, she's bloody well good."

"So that's why she's out here?," Connor asked. "She's hunting with her sister."

Spike laughed. "Hadn't heard it called that before." He adopted a mock southern accent. "Us fancy city folk refer to these kinds of things as slayin'. Huntin's when yo' out shootin' varmints in the briar patch." Then Spike returned to his normal voice. "Sorry about that lad. Don't mean to mock. But you've got this whole Nature Boy this going, like you're Davey Crockett or something. Where are you from anyway?"

It quickly occurred to Connor that he had not prepared himself for contact with strangers. He hadn't even made up a plausible story to explain who he was and where he came from. He turned and ran away. Spike at first was surprised. But then it made sense. He could understand why someone would not want to tell their life story to a stranger.

Connor slept under the pines in the forest as he had done on other nights. But by morning he was determined to finally get Dawn to talk to him. He followed her home from school. When she went inside he opened the door and entered. No one had ever taught him to knock.

Dawn turned, saw Connor, and was frightened. Buffy was at work, and she was all alone with this violent and strange boy. She faced Connor and backpedaled halfway up the stairs. He entered uninvited, and in the daytime. So he wasn't a vampire. But he hadn't proven to be very friendly either.

Connor saw Dawn's fear. "Please, don't be afraid. I am not here to hurt you." Then Connor launched into his prepared story, one that he thought she might relate to. "My name is Steven. I'm 16 years old. I grew up on a ranch in Utah with Holtz, my father. My mother died giving birth to me. Not long ago, my father was killed by vampires. I was all alone. So I left home to hunt down the vampires that killed my father. After I did that I kept hunting vampires. That led me here, to Sunnydale."

The story did the trick. Suddenly this weird boy made sense to Dawn. She realized they had a lot in common. They were both orphans. And she knew how hard it was to find a cute boy her age who also slayed. She walked down the stairs towards Connor.

"My name's Dawn. Sorry about telling my sister you were a vampire and almost getting you killed." Then she relaxed and began to ramble. "That's just so like me! I finally meet a cute boy who's cool with my afterschool hobby and I almost get him killed."

Connor processed this information and smiled. She said he was cute! That was a compliment. His fair maiden had given him a compliment! At last, she might actually like him. Suddenly his life seemed full of possibilities.

"U-Uh, thank you, uh, I guess," Connor stammered. "I, uh, myself, uh, think you are absolutely luminous." It wasn't the smoothest of deliveries, but Connor knew it could have been worse.

Dawn smiled politely at the compliment. But the choice of words intrigued her. Not pretty. Not beautiful. Not stunning. Luminous. Interesting word. Like the sun. Like an orb of energy which gives off light. Interesting word indeed.

"So, Steven. You want to stay for a little while, watch tv?"

Connor was not familiar with this word. "What is tv?"

"Wow, I guess you really did grow up in the middle of nowhere. To think there's a kid my age in this world who hasn't even heard of tv. Here, sit down Steven. Let me show you."

While the two of them got to know one another Spike took a break from work, after assuring Anya he was fully aware that she would dock him for the missed hours, and went meet Willow in the library lounge. She was writing a paper on Zelda Fitzgerald. Spike had some primary source material to contribute.

"No!," Willow said to Spike. "You're pulling my leg. You're yanking my chain. Your are Pulling and yanking the chain around my leg. No way you knew them!"

"I'm not lying to you," Spike responded. "It's bloody well true. When we were in Paris, in the 1920's, Dru and I hung out with Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald."

"But they weren't vampires. Don't vampires kill people and drink their blood rather than go to cocktail parties and socialize with them?"

"Most vampires don't socialize with any people at all. But they're barbarians. A higher breed of vampire, like, say, meself, could form relationships with people that didn't involve drinking their blood. I've known lots of interesting people I never even thought of killing."

"Wait a second. You tried to kill me! What, I wasn't interesting enough for you? I was just a meal on legs with a head attached."

Spike then tried to be charming. "Willow, you must remember that when I tried to kill you I barely knew you. We had never even had a genuine conversation. I there's one thing I'll thank those Initiative bastards for, it's that they kept me from making a horrible mistake and turning you into a vampire."

Willow perked up when she heard this. "So you weren't just going to kill me. You're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?"

"No, I mean it, I really do. I was sick of Harmony and you seemed like a far more interesting girl. Wonder how you would have been as a vampire."

"Actually Spike, I know the answer to that. When you were gone, an alternate dimension vampire version of me got sucked into this world. She was this languorous, "bored now," dominatrix in a leather body suit. And she hit on me and groped me, which was really just totally disgusting. In so many ways. And on so many levels. But we sent her back before she did too much harm."

"Leather dominatrix. You don't say. Sounds like a great dimension."

"Spike, come on, enough."

"Okay then, back to business. Dru and I met Scotty and Zelda at their New Year's Eve party. Quite a party. It lasted until April. Zelda was a little mad, so of course her and Dru had a smashing time together. It was like they spoke their own language. Zelda was something of a painter. Did Dru's portrait. Some Fitzgerald fanatic bought it a little while back for a hundred thousand quid. Of course they have no idea who it is. It's called something like French Country Girl.'

"Me and Dru, we never really cared for Scotty's books, but they were great people. Never figured out what we were. They partied all night, slept it off in the daytime, so the whole nocturnal thing was nothing special.

"Scotty was real interested in me. He always said the rich were different from you and me. And he thought the English rich were even more different than the American rich. He always asked about the boarding schools, the balls, the garden parties, that sort of thing. He thought I was some rich kid slumming as a bohemian. Which in a way a kind of was. Basically he was a nice guy who got everything he wanted then realized that wasn't enough. You know, the tragedy of success."

Willow sat in rapt attention at this little trip back in time. "So, what was your impression of her? What was Zelda like?"

"You want a picture of Zelda? Okay. Think of Dru. With a southern accent. And not homicidal. That's Zelda. She was brilliant in her own way, but had trouble getting others to see it. Eventually she just gave up and went completely bonkers. Real sad story.

"I felt for Scotty. I mean, I've been there myself. You love some girl more than anything in the entire world. But she's sick, and you do everything you can to help her. Then one day you realize you've lost her forever."

"Gosh, that's so sad. But Dru? She was like Dru? Cause from what I've seen of Dru I'm having a problem with this visualization."

"Remember Willow, without the homicides. Try if you can to picture Drusila as a person with a soul. She's crazy, but she's not evil. She's just lost."

"Okay I'll give that idea time. I'm just having awful visions of Scott and Zelda killing Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein and sucking their blood. Say, did you know any of the other writers in Paris at the time?"

"Yeah, we ran into a few others. Don't like to name drop. Hold it. What am I saying? I love to name drop! So Gertrude Stein, or Gertie as we called her behind her back, had this thing for Dru. Dru of course thought she was disgusting and vile. So disgusting she didn't even want to kill her. But she wanted to hurt her, and was going to turn Alice B. Toklas into a vampire. I talked her out of it. Convinced her it would have created too much of a scene and we'd have to leave town. And Dru just adored Paris.

"And that thing you said about Scott and Zelda drinking Hemingway's blood — they would have loved it! Scotty and Ernest hated each other with a passion. Oil and water they were. Put about ten drinks in Ernest and he turned into Angelus, except without Angelus's artistic genius, of course. There was even this one night when, like always, he was trying to prove how macho he was, and started telling these ridiculous stories about how he staked vampires in Grenoble. It was just hilarious! Part of me wanted to put on the vampire face and scare the bloody daylights out of the bloke."

A little before six Buffy arrived home from work. She turned to find her sister hanging out with the creature she almost killed the night before. Dawn stood up and quickly explained.

"Oh, Buffy, this is Steven. He's a person. From Utah. His father was killed by vampires. So he's got no parents and goes around killing vampires."

"Well Steven, if you're looking for vampires you came to the right place," Buffy responded. "And, oh yeah, sorry for almost killing you. I'm always making bad first impressions."

"I guess I have the same problem," Connor wryly responded. "Buffy, you are a great fighter. The best I have ever faced."

"You know, I so rarely get to hear that. Cause just about everything I fight ends up dead. So thank you, Steven. It's nice to be appreciated. And you have a few good moves yourself. That whole flying through the air thing. How'd you learn to do that?"

Connor felt Buffy was getting too close to his secret. "My father, he taught me. As a young man he also fought vampires."

Buffy liked the sound of this. "I tell ya, it's so rare in this day and age to find good paternal role models. Your father sounds like a wonderful man. I'm sorry I never met him. There were a lot of times I could have used some help with the vampires around here."

"So how long have you been fighting them?," Connor asked Buffy.

"Wow. It seems like forever. Seven or eight years, I guess. I'm the Slayer. Your father might have told you the story. In each generation there is one girl given the power to fight the forces of darkness' yadda yadda yadda."

Connor nodded as if he knew what she was talking about. Holtz had always told him he was a special one sent by God to battle evil, and he didn't feel like getting into a discussion on this topic.

The three of them had dinner. Shortly after they sat down Willow came home and joined them.

"So tell me. Who's the new fella?"

"Hello there. I'm Steven," Connor responded.

"Well hello yourself. I'm Willow. Always nice to see a new face around here. Especially a face like yours."

Dawn then kicked Willow in the shins from across the table, as if protecting her property. Then Dawn said "Steven also hunts vampires. Actually, when we first met I thought he was a vampire and Buffy almost staked him."

Buffy jumped in to finish the story. "And then he kicked my ass."

"Well, you must be very good then, Steven. Buffy being a superhero and all." Then Willow got nervous, fearing she spilled a secret. "Ah, ah, what I mean to say is she's, well, ah."

Buffy ended Willow's stammering. "No recovery necessary, Will. He already knows."

Willow relaxed. "So then, Steven, you hunt vampires? And you can fight Buffy without dying or going to the hospital? What are you then, some Boy Slayer? Buffy, is there such a thing?"

Connor looked confused. Buffy told Willow "not that I've heard. Giles always made it sound like it was an all-girls club. Steven's father taught him how to fight vampires."

"Oh. So you're just a normal guy with no special powers. Like me, expect I'm a girl. Good old normal Willow, with no special powers. I don't float through the air or move objects with my mind or any of that stuff. Nope. Not me."

Connor was a bit confused by Willow. She seemed more high strung than the other two. It was nearing dusk and Connor wanted to get going. He excused himself and left.

Willow was intrigued by the mystery man. "So Dawn, is Steven your new boyfriend?"

Dawn was a bit irritated by the condescending prodding. "No. I mean, I just met him. I mean, we didn't really discuss that. We're just friends, er, I don't know! I mean, it's not like there's a term for this kind of thing."

"Oh but Dawn, he's perrrfect," Willow replied. "He's nice. He's polite. He hunts vampires. Oh, and yeah, he's absolutely adorable. I mean, it's so obvious. The way those bangs droop down to those sad, brown, puppy dog eyes, just begging for someone to take him in and care for him."

"Okay Willow, I admit it. He's a honey. You might say a major honey. But you sound just a little too interested in Steven."

"Oh Dawn, don't you worry. I mean, he's like way younger than me. And he's, you know, a guy. I won't touch your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!," Dawn yelled back.

"But you wish he was," Willow answered slyly. "And he's already met your family. And he ate dinner at your house. That's, like, going steady."

Dawn thought about this. "Well, he did follow me home and barge in and try to talk to me, so it's obvious he likes me. If he wasn't so cute, I guess you'd call him a stalker. But instead you call him my boyfriend. Teenage boys are funny that way."

Connor walked into the center of town. He passed the Magic Shop and saw Spike inside. He entered. "Hi Spike," he announced.

"Oh it's you. Hello Steven. How ya been?"

"Pretty good, I guess. I hung out with Dawn this afternoon. She no longer runs away when she sees me. I like that."

At this point Anya entered from the storeroom. Spike had told her about Steven. She was glad to finally set eyes on the new boy.

"Well, if it isn't little Steven! I've heard so much about you. Spike told me you were quite the fighter. Though he didn't tell me you were this cute." She then swept his bangs off his forehead as if he were a little child. "You're such a pretty picture, now aren't you?"

Connor smiled. He wasn't used to doting female attention, and rather enjoyed it. "Oh yes you are!," Anya said in reply to her own question. Then she pinched his right cheek.

"That's enough, Auntie Anya," Spike said from across the room. "He's 16. He fights toe-to-toe with Slayers. He's hardly a child."

Anya realized perhaps she had gone overboard. She smiled at Connor, turned, and walked back to the cash register. Connor noticed the sun had just set. "I'm going to check around for vampires, get then before they have a chance to get anybody else. If I find any packs I'll tell you. It was nice to meet you Anya. Bye Spike."

Connor conducted a perimeter search around the town's center. He spread out to cover more ground in a spiral pattern, as Holtz had taught him. About half an hour into his search, Connor heard several voices in an alley behind a warehouse. Across from the warehouse was a one-story North Face store. He climbed a street lamp and jumped onto the store's roof, about 20 feet from the ground.

He approached the conversation. He saw six men, all clearly vampires. The warehouse's roof provided shade from the final rays of dusk. They were planning and discussing strategy, which Connor believed was rare for vampires. One of the vampires was clearly in charge, giving orders, making sure the other five knew what to do. They were going to break into something. Then the head vampire said "Magic Shop."

Connor realized Spike and Anya were in immediate danger. He leaped from the roof. Kicking one vampire to the ground and staking him. The other five fled and eluded Connor. He raced back to the store.

Anya was especially upset. Not because vampires were threatening her life, but because they were threatening her property. "This is just the worst thing that could possibly happen to me! I just finished cleaning this place up from the last, uh, unpleasantness, and now these vandals."

"Vampires," Connor corrected her.

"Yes, whatever," Anya responded. "But they're vandals, which is even worse. I've learned to handle the undead element in this community. I mean, they just want your blood. And they keep the rent on this place down, what with their propensity to kill this store's proprietors. But wanton destruction of private property. That is were I must draw the line!"

Spike rolled his eyes, and then began preparing defenses. There was the front and rear doors, and the front windows, which were barred. Both doors were then reinforced with plywood and furniture. Anya, desperate to protect the merchandise, took the front door. Spike watched the back. He told Connor to help whomever was in the most trouble.

The head vampire sent his four minions to storm the front. This would divert the people inside while he entered from the back. The vampires out front ripped a metal trash can from the street to use as a battering ram on the door. When the first vampire stuck him head through the plywood, Anya severed it with a large ax. The three behind him broke down the barriers. One of the knocked Anya down with the trash can. The other two burst through the breach.

Connor raced to them. One went left, one right. Connor leaped in the air and executed a textbook split kick, knocking both off their feet. He grabbed the one closest to the counter, and tossed him into the vampire near the wall.

The vampire with the trash can tried to bash it over Connor's skull. Connor reached up and grabbed it, then kicked this vampire in the stomach, then in the face. He flinched backwards, and let go of the trash can, which Connor now held. In a sweeping underarm motion, Connor hit the vampire with the trash can and knocked him to the ground. Connor then raised the large metal can over his head and brought it down on this vampire's head, crushing it completely.

Connor dropped the slaying receptacle and approached the two remaining minions, who had risen to their feet. Connor punched one of them. But the other ripped a shelf off a bookcase and beat Connor upside the head with the board.

Spike had heard nothing outside the back door. He checked on the front, and saw Anya on the ground and Connor taking a beating. He raced to Connor's aid. Spike grabbed this vampire from behind, forcing him to drop the board. Anya rose up now, saw this vampire being restrained by Spike, and staked it.

Connor got up and took a punch from the one remaining minion. He punched back and knocked down the vampire. He got on his knees over top this vampire, and gave it a good licking. He was very mad about the beating. Then he staked it.

The head vampire, whose name was Demetrius, had been waiting for Spike to leave his post, listening to his breathing. When he heard Spike walk away, he jimmied the lock with a crowbar and entered. He came into the front part of the store and grabbed a leather-bound volume. Connor heard him and told Spike and Anya there was one more behind them.

Spike and Anya ran at Demetrius. Anya reached him first. She was eager to protect the merchandise. Demetrius swung the crowbar at her like a baseball bat. The impact sent her flying through the glass display case near the register.

Spike grabbed the crowbar with his right hand and punch Demetrius in the nose with his left. Demetrius held onto the crowbar with his left hand and grabbed Spike's throat with his right, lifting Spike's feet off the ground.

Connor raced to save Spike. Demetrius heard the boy approach and tossed Spike onto Connor, knocking both of them down in a heap. Connor leaped to his feet and attacked rashly. Demetrius hit him over the head with his crowbar. Spike struggled to reach his feet. Demetrius brained him three times with the crowbar, knocking Spike unconscious.

Demetrius then dropped the crowbar and reached for a bottle and a handkerchief in his pocket. He poured liquid from the bottle onto the handkerchief. Connor tried to punch Demetrius, but he ducked and maneuvered behind Connor. He grabbed Connor from behind, placed the chloroform-drenched handkerchief over Connor's mouth, and Connor collapsed. Demetrius picked up Connor and the book and exited. Before leaving he dropped a bookcase on Spike as an extra indignity for the ex-vampire.

Anya had called Buffy when Connor alerted her to the danger. This upset Spike, who wanted the three of them to handle the matter on their own. Calling the Slayer every time danger appeared made Spike feel helpless. Buffy, Willow and Dawn arrived after Demetrius left. They couldn't see Spike because of the bookcase on top of him. But they saw Anya lying in the display case and revived her.

Anya told them they killed all but one vampire, and he wanted a book. She checked the shelf the book was on. From the books around the missing volume she quickly realized what it was: Gaiseric's Book Of The Dead. She told Buffy it contained rituals for devil worshipping. Willow immediately thought of the temple she had exhumed. It was closer to Xander's house than to the Magic Shop, so she called him and told him to meet them there. Buffy, Dawn and Willow left without Anya, who said she had to look something up about the missing text.

When Connor awoke he was in the temple, his arms stretched perpendicular to his body, tied to very large crucifix. Demetrius stood below him, pacing back and forth and chanting in ancient Gothic. Connor struggled, but could not break free. Desperate, he screamed for help.

Dawn heard him outside and recognized his voice. She yelled "Steven!" and tried to rush in after him. Buffy grabbed her and said she would go first and fight this vampire. Dawn, Xander and Willow would follow and free Steven.

Demetrius had already raised the floor of the temple to ground-level. Buffy leaped through a window. Demetrius continued to chant. Behind him was a large altar. Buffy did a handspring off the alter and landed between Demetrius and Connor.

"The mass is done," Buffy announced to Demetrius as she kicked him in the face, causing him to stumble backward. "Let us now go forth to dust you and love and serve the world," she added as she landed blow after blow. Demetrius did not fight back. He just stayed on his feet, held onto his book, and continued to chant. The light brown wood of the crucifix turned black and a red light shone through the floor below Connor, illuminating him.

Xander, Dawn and Willow broke in through what had been the front door. They looked straight ahead, and saw Connor up in the air on the cross. "Steven!," Dawn yelled again, running towards him.

"Okay, two questions," Xander said to Willow. Okay, maybe three questions. Why is there a big cross in a satanic temple? Why is there a person on that cross? And pray tell me who is this Steven Dawn keeps screaming about?"

"Uh, he's the one on the cross," Willow answered as the two of them maneuvered around Buffy and Demetrius and made their way to Connor. "He's new in town. Just met him at dinner at Buffy's place. He hunts vampires, it think."

"Well it looks like the vampires also hunt him," Xander responded. "Either that, or worship him."

"Or crucify him," Willow added as they reached Connor's feet. Xander took out the ax he brought and cut the ropes tying Connor's feet to the cross. But Connor's were too high up for Xander to reach. He handed the ax to Dawn and told him to stand on his shoulders. After taking a few seconds to find his balance, Dawn took the ax to the ropes around Connor's right arm.

Her first swing was errant, missing the ropes and nearly severing Connor's forearm. Connor gasped and started breathing very heavily. He did not completely trust Dawn, standing on someone's shoulders, wielding an ax around his body parts. She tried to assuage his fears. "Oh, don't worry Steven, you'll be fine. I've does this, like, a dozen times. Vampires are always crucifying people around here. No big deal. Relax."

Connor flinched as she swung a second time. This one connected, severing the ropes above his wrist. As he freed his right arm, Connor grabbed the ax from Dawn. He still did not completely trust her with that thing. With his free right hand, he chopped the ropes holding his left arm, and dropped to the ground. It would have been quite a fall for any other man, but Connor landed effortlessly on his feet.

Buffy was through beating on Demetrius, and went to stake him. He offered no defense. Just before touching his skin, the stake hit what to Buffy felt like a wall. She tried again, with no success.

"Buffy you can't stake him!," Anya yelled from outside the window Buffy broke through. "It's like a sanctuary in there for him! Get away from him now!"

Anya's voice caused Demetrius to move his eyes up from the text. He saw that Connor was off the cross. But this did not worry him as much as one would have suspected. As long as he was inside the temple, the heathen humans could not leave it. Connor, Xander, Dawn and Willow soon realized this as they ran for the door. Demetrius laughed at their desperation. Then he grabbed Buffy and threw her into the stone alter, splitting it in two.

Anya had come across a few devil worshippers in her day, and she knew that while Demetrius could not be harmed inside the temple, he was not protected from attacks from the outside. She had armed herself with a bottle of hairspray and a scrunchy. She wrapped the scrunchy around the front of a bolt, and soaked it with hairspray. She placed the bolt in the crossbow, and aimed at Demetrius, who was muttering some incantation telling his God he had even more human offerings for him. Anya took out a lighter, ignited the scrunchy, and fired.

The bolt hit Demetrius behind his right shoulder. The flames spread quickly to his clothes. "Run to this window, run to me!," she yelled to the people inside. "When he's dead you climb out."

Demetrius staggered around the temple, trying to smother the flames on the building's walls. This only spread the flames to the walls. The temple was an old pine building coated with turpentine, so it went up pretty fast. When Demetrius was incinerated Buffy and friends climbed out and retreated from the flames.

The property damage was especially gratifying to Anya. "Yeah, see how you like it, satanic vampire vandal guy! How does it feel to have your property destroyed, you devil-worshipping brigand!"

The flames spread quickly to the steeple. As it was being consumed the steeple buckled and fell through the roof of the temple. Soon the walls caved in.

Xander, as always, resorted to jokes to blunt the trauma. "So, Steven, just so you don't have a bad impression of our little town. Vampires — common everyday occurrence. Crucifixions — almost never happen." Xander then looked at Connor's hands. "Hey, look on the bright side, Steven. It could have been worse. At least he didn't drive nails through your hands."

Connor looked at Xander and laughed. He had never known a man with a sense of humor. Holtz and Angel, they were serious, dour men. He knew right away Xander was different. "You're right, you know that. Sure, I'd be a stigmatic, walk around showing everyone my wounds of Christ. But it would hurt. It would really, really hurt. I mean, the whole point was Jesus did that so we wouldn't have to."

"Yes, being the Messiah's a dirty job. Just be glad someone else has already done it," Xander joked back. Connor laughed again. "By the way, Steven, I'm Xander. I brought the ax that almost severed your limbs. I'm helpful that way."

"Hello Xander," Connor answered, still laughing. "You are very funny. I like that."

"Well how bout that," Xander said. "Usually my lame jokes are greeted with snide comments if I'm lucky, and slaps to the face if I'm unlucky. Always a pleasure to meet somewhat who appreciates my refined comedic gifts. Say, Steven, you're new in town . So where are you staying."

"Oh, about a mile that way, on that hill."

"What? There's no houses there."

"I sleep on the ground under the trees."

"Say, how bout you give up those fancy, five-star pine-scented accommodations and stay and my place? It's no Embassy Suites, but there are pillows, blankets, a bed that pulls out of a couch, running water, electricity and, here's the deal-closer, a roof! All that, and it's free."

Connor liked Xander, and his place sure sounded comfortable. The two of them left for Xander's apartment. Buffy, Dawn and Willow returned home. None of them thought to wonder why this vampire was crucifying Connor. Willow was sullen. She felt guilty. After all, she was the one who raised the temple.

Anya returned to the store. Spike had come to, and discovered he was all alone. He was frantic, running around yelling for Anya and Steven. He saw Anya enter and ran to her, begging to know what happened to Steven. She said relax, she had taken care of it. Steven was safe. Anya killed the vampire herself. She was very proud of this.

Spike was glad to hear of the happy ending. But as he slinked home he couldn't help but feel defeated. He had failed to protect himself. He had failed to protect others. He felt helpless, vulnerable, painfully human.

In the morning, Connor discovered Xander's copious supply of sugary foods. He ate a box of Cocoa Pebbles for breakfast. Before Xander went off to work, he put in his Star Wars DVD's to entertain Connor. Connor really liked them, but had trouble understanding that it was fiction and these characters and their world did not exist. Xander wasn't able to get this into his head.

A few hours after Xander left, Connor was lying on the couch, shoveling Cracker Jacks into his mouth, watching the end of "The Empire Strikes Back." The Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader duel really caught his fancy. But then Vader said he was Luke's father. Connor gasped, and choked on a mouthful of caramel popcorn. He fell to the floor and coughed violently. So much for what Xander said. These movies felt plenty real to Connor.


End file.
